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UN / PALESTINE MEMBERSHIP
STORY: UN / PALESTINIAN MEMBERSHIP
TRT: 3.22
SOURCE: UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ NATS
DATELINE: 27 SEPTEMBER 2011, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters
27 SEPTEMBER 2011, NEW YORK CITY
2. Zoom out, Security Council
3. Med shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Najib Mikati, Prime Minister of Lebanon:
“I come to you from a region where the winds of change are blowing and yesterday the Palestinian spring train left the station asking for an end to decades of historic injustice and continued occupation, appealing to the world to recognise the right of the Palestinian people to have on its land, like all the peoples of the world, an independent State.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs:
“The parties remain far apart. No one can deny the depth of their dispute, but there are now building blocks in place that could help make negotiations more effective than before. A clear time-table, expectations that the parties must come forward with proposals and an active role for the Quartet; it is not easy to chart a way forward, but it is now the time, again, to give diplomacy a chance.”
7. Med shot, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs:
“The Palestinian Authority is capable of running the State. The strong international consensus was clear at a meeting of the ad-hoc liaison committee on 18 September here in New York. The meeting confirmed the assessments of the World Bank, the IMF and UNSCO of the capability of the Palestinian Authority. The efforts to rebuild robust state institutions and revive the Palestinian economy have brought real security and economic improvements.”
9. Med shot, delegates
10. SOUNDBITE (English) B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs:
“The main obstacles to a Palestinian State are not institutional but political, the unresolved issue and the conflict between the parties; the continuing Israeli occupation and the ongoing Palestinian divide. Last Friday 23 September President Abbas submitted to the Secretary-General an application for membership for the State of Palestine in the United Nations. In accordance with the charter and the rules of procedure the Secretary-General transmitted the application to the President of the Security Council on the same day and sent a copy to the President of the General Assembly. The Secretary-General respects the prerogatives of the Security Council and the General Assembly. The application is now before you, it is your issue to decide.”
11. Med shot, delegates
12. SOUNDBITE (English) B. Lynn Pascoe, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs:
“Extremist on both sides must not be allowed to inflame the situation. The past month has seen an upsurge in Israeli settler violence, including on 5 September, the 5th arson attack on a mosque in the past two months. The rule of law must be enforced by Israeli authorities against this phenomenon. Security must also be ensured for Israelis, as was underscored by a car and knife attack in Tel Aviv by a West Bank Palestinian on29 August.”
13. Zoom out, Security Council
While the Security Council mulls over the Palestinian application to become a Member State, the United Nations political chief, B. Lynn Pascoe, today (27 September) called on the Israelis and the Palestinians to return to negotiations to reach a comprehensive and lasting settlement.
Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati opened the Council’s monthly update on the Middle East and said that “the winds of change are blowing” in the region and “the Palestinian spring train left the station.”
Mikati told the Council that the Palestinians were asking for “an end to decades of historic injustice and continued occupation” and appealing to the world to recognise their right “to have on its land, like all the peoples of the world, an independent State.”
Pascoe, who is the Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs, noted that the parties “remain far apart”, but pointed out that despite the depth of their dispute, “there are now building blocks in place that could help make negotiations more effective than before.”
He highlighted the Quartet on the Middle East’s efforts to set a clear time-table and called for the parties to “give diplomacy a chance.”
Israeli-Palestinian peace talks have been stalled since late September last year after Israel’s refusal to extend a 10-month freeze on settlement activity. The talks had only resumed a few weeks earlier after a two-year hiatus.
Last Friday the President of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, submitted an application to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for Palestine to be a Member State of the UN.
The Secretary-General transmitted the application to the President of the Security Council, which is set to meet tomorrow to refer the application to the committee that deals with new members.
The Under-Secretary-General made clear that there is strong international consensus that “the Palestinian Authority is capable of running the State” as confirmed at a recent meeting of the ad-hoc liaison committee as well as assessments of the World Bank, the IMF and Office of the United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process (UNSCO).
He stated that the main obstacles to a Palestinian State “are not institutional but political” and noting that the Secretary-General “respects the prerogatives of the Security Council and the General Assembly” told Council members that “it is your issue to decide.”
The Quartet, which is comprised of the United States, Russia, the European Union and the United Nations, met on Friday after the application was submitted and called for resumed negotiations, urging concrete proposals from the parties on territory and security within three months of talks resuming. It also urged them to avoid provocations on the ground.
Pascoe said that “extremist on both sides must not be allowed to inflame the situation”, noting recent events of Israeli settler violence as well as attacks on Israelis by Palestinians.
The Under-Secretary-General also commented briefly on developments in Lebanon, where the overall situation remained calm, and in Syria, where polarization continues to deepen between the regime of Bashar Al-Assad and the growing popular opposition.
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